20-minutes of Dead Space 3 gameplay makes me worried for the Dead Space franchise

Dead Space 3 was announced at this year's E3 and yes its official - The game has drop-in drop-out co-op. The last game had competitive multiplayer which was ok since it was separated from the singe player campaign. But this time coop mode replaces multiplayer, and is part of the whole campaign, which I don't like one bit. Its the same game yes, but the changes added into the third installment questions the game's ability to deliver what we want out of Dead Space, and that is the thrill of getting freaked out by necromorphs. The fear of running out of ammo and literally making Isaac run for his life. This game is a survival horror, and the changes actually questions that. Sure, they say you can still play the game solo, but they stated that playing the game in co-op will unlock "additional story details and gameplay mechanics" only found when playing with a friend. That said - The full experience of the campaign is actually in coop. I would have been fine with Dead Space 3 being the same game but with maybe added features. We've seen it before with other games, but did they really need to add an extra mode? To make it sell better, sadly yes, which is why I think the Dead Space franchise could be hitting a brick wall with these kinds of decisions.

Maybe I'm overreacting with how Visceral Studios is presenting the game, but the final nail in the coffin was the fact that you can take cover and engaged in a firefight with actual humans. Not only am I questioning if this is still a Survival Horror game, I'm also wondering if its even the same game.  This is the first time in the series that we see not-so infected humans wanting Isaac dead. After killing Necromorphs over and over again in the first two games, adding human enemies in the third really looks off to me. Even the game's levels seem more open giving Dead Space 3 a completely different feel.

Dead Space 3 is planned for next year for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

E3 2012: Borderlands 2 gameplay footage, plus info about the story

Borderlands 2 made an appearance this E3 and revealed some new information about this FPS lootfest. In the video, Vice-President Steve Gibson of Gearbox Software talks to VG247 about the game's story, trading, gun codes, while showing new gameplay footage of the game. It's looking great but it looks like we are getting the same game but with new content, and new classes. Not sure if this either good or bad at this point because it seems there isn't anything unique that could separate the difference between the first game to the sequel. Check out the video below.

I'm definitely going to have loads of fun with Borderlands 2, but I was hoping the sequel would bring deeper RPG elements this time around. It seems like Gearbox Software played it safe and just improved on what we loved about the first game rather than bringing in new elements into the game that would make it feel like a different experience.

The weapon looting begins on September 18 for North America, and September 22 for the rest of the world.

Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House goes live

Delayed since launch, the Real Money auction house goes live today. Players can now buy/sell in-game items using real money. Believe me, you'd think people wouldn't spend huge amounts of dollars for pieces of Diablo 3 gears, well there's actually a lot of them willing to throw money like that. It's going to be crazy from now on.

Now I've checked out the Real Money Auction house and end-game gear can go for a whopping $250! It's obviously unstable at the moment it being the first day and all, but people are reporting players buying these overpriced items. I also witness a $200 purchase on a Twitch.tv live stream, and the streamer even said the piece wasn't even worth that much. It's a bit absurd  to see gear cost more than the actual game itself. And to top it all off, all transactions, Blizzard is getting a $1 cut for each one. Sneaky bastards.

Not sure how this is going to play out for the future of Diablo 3, but it's definitely looking grim. It's a great game by itself, but the whole Auction House feature seems to be ruining the game as the weeks go by. I have  little respect whenever I see geared characters since you have no idea if it was hard-earned equipment or a fat wallet that got them all epic.

Blizzard has given players a decent post regarding how to use the Real Money Auction House.

Blizzard laying down the Diablo 3 Ban Hammer

Took Blizzard long enough to whip out the Ban Hammer. If you're doing certain exploits, bots, and cheats to break or make the game easier, watch out because they are out to do some permanent bans. I consider cheating, or rather breaking the game part of any game, but with Diablo 3 being an online-only game with an Auction House soon to give players the option to buy gear with real money, this wasn't a surprise. 

From Blizzard:

Blizzard Entertainment has always taken cheating in any form in Blizzard games very seriously, and that's no different for Diablo® III. If a Diablo III player is found to be cheating or using hacks, bots, or modifications in any form, then as outlined in the Diablo III end user license agreement, that player can be permanently banned from the game. This means that the player will be permanently unable to log in to Battle.net® to play Diablo III with his or her account.

Playing Diablo III legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client. Doing otherwise violates our policies for Battle.net and Diablo III, and it goes against the spirit of fair play that all of our games are based on. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any hacks, cheats, bots, or exploits. Suspensions and bans of players that have used or start using cheats and hacks will begin in the near future.

This what happens when a game goes online-only. Heck, I bet Blizzard won't give a damn if this game had an offline mode with no Auction House. But it is what it is. Exploits and cheats are part of video games, especially for games that are considered a single player game. Decisions like this reminds me that gamer's that bought the game don't really own the game. I've already given my thoughts regarding Diablo 3 going online-only and I won't dwell on that anymore.

Real Money Auction house is coming on the 13th and I can see a series of shit storms coming in the next few days.

E3 2012: XCOM: Enemy Unknown E3 trailer and gameplay demo

If you're not aware, the XCOM franchise is a classic strategy game and is considered one of the best games coming from the 90's. XCOM: Enemy Unkown, is a remake of the old 1994 PC game. Firaxis is retaining everything that made this game so iconic back in the day. The game made an appearance during this years E3, and I just can't wait to get my hands on this game. Gameplay demo and E3 trailer below.

XCOM: Enemy Unkown - Last Stand Trailer

Gameplay demo 

Its looking a bit fast paced compared to the old one, but it looks like the core gameplay is still intact. They also mentioned that you can improve, do upgrades, and also shoot down alien ships just like the old game. A huge plus.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be out on October 9, 2012 for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC

[Source: Youtube GameSpot]